Thermal Neutron Irradiation of Cotton

Purified cotton samples were irradiated in a "pure" source of thermal neutrons in the dosage range of 5 × 1014 through 1 X 1017 neutrons per cm.2 Neutron irradiation produced chain cleavage, carboxyl groups, and reducing groups in the cotton cellulose. The water solubility of the cotton was not appreciably affected in this dosage range. The wet and dry strengths and the elongation of the cotton were decreased by neutron irradiation. The uniformity of strength along the fiber length was only slightly lowered. The reducing groups produced in the neutron-irradiated cotton were shown to be markedly different in degree of reaction with sodium chlorite, copper equivalence, and influence on alkali sensitivity from the reducing aldehyde groups produced by periodate oxidation of cotton cellulose. A close similarity between the effects of thermal neutron and gamma ray irradiation on cotton was observed.